Variable width window frame construction



Dec. 20, 1955 P. L.. ADAMS ETAL 2,727,284

ARIABLE WIDTH WINDOW FRAME CONSTRUCTION Filed March 5 1953 hlfizl s Pa 111.1,. fic/ams .F/fa r'l 75 K01 United States Patent VARIABLE WIDTH WINDOW FRAME CONSTRUCTION Paul L. Adams and Frederick Karl Taylor, Dubuque, Iowa, assign'ors to Carr, Adamsdz'Collier Company, a corporation of Iowa Application March 5, 1953, Serial No. 340,536 Claims. (Cl. -11) This invention relates to a variable width window frame construction and, more particularly, to a Window frame construction which is adaptable for use with either thin or thick inner wall construction.

In a factory prebuilt window unit it is desirable that the Window framing be readily adaptable, at the place of installation, for use with either thick or thin inner wall constructions.

In the past, the window jambs and sill have been of a width suitable for use with a thin wall construction and have been provided with a separate inside strip to provide added width of frame when the frame is mounted-in a construction having a relatively thick inner wall. This inside strip is completely separate from the jamb and sill members and is loosely nailed to the window frame members to enable detachment thereof if it is not needed. This construction requires that the inside strip be cut from the jamb and sill members and then nailed thereto prior to shipment from the factory.

An object of this invention is to provide a variable width window frame construction having an integral inside strip which may readily be removed from the, jamb and sill members.

Another object of this invention is to provide a variable width window frame construction comprising an elongated board member made of wood, or other like material, which has integrally connected thereto, by a thin connecting rib, an inside strip which may be readily detached when the window frame is used with a thin inner wall construction and which may be firmly secured to the board member when the window frame is to be used with a thick wall structure.

Another object of the invention is to provide a window frame construction as described in the preceding paragraph and in which the thin connecting rib is formed by offset saw cuts extending inwardly from the rear and front faces of the board member and wherein the inside strip has a bevelled outer side to render said inside strip square with the board member when said strip and member are fixedly secured together.

The objects of the invention, generally set forth, together with other ancillary advantages are attained by the construction and arrangement shown by way of illustration in the accompanying drawing in which:

Fig. l is a perspective sectional view of the variable width window frame construction;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of an elongated board member having its front face shaped for use as a side i Fig. 3 is a perspective view similar to Fig. 2 with a portion of the board member broken away and showing the inside strip fixedly secured to the board member;

Fig. 4 is a perspective exploded view similar to Fig. 2 showing the board member broken away and the inside strip detached from the board member; and

Fig. 5 is a plan view of the board member shown in Fig. 2.

While this invention is susceptible of embodiment in many different forms, there is shown in the drawings and will herein be described in detail an illustrative embodi ment of the invention with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered as an exemplification of the principles of the invention and is not intended to limit the invention to the embodiment illustrated. The scope of the invention will be pointed out in the appended claims.

The variable width window frame construction is intended for use with standard building construction as shown in Fig. 1. The side jamb 1 is secured to a stud 2 and extends for the length of the window opening. A sill 3 connected to the side jambs and head jamb (not shown) completes the window frame in which a lower sash 4 and an upper sash 5 are mounted.

The side jambs 1 are provided with weather stripping which, as shown in Fig. 1, comprises a flexible member 6 having ribs 7 which slidably engage with grooves 8 in the sashes and guide the raising and lowering movements thereof. A central rib 9 in the flexible member 6 acts to control the spacing between the lower sash 4 and upper sash 5.

A blind stop 10 and an inner stop 11 are provided to assist in properly guiding the Window sashes. The inner stop 11, while helping to maintain the lower sash in its proper relationship with the flexible Weather stripping member 6, is sufficiently narrow so that the sashes may be removed from the inside of the house or other building when the sashes are moved laterally to compress one of the flexible weather stripping members 6.

Each of the sashes 4 and 5 have the conventional rails 12, one of which is shown, stile 13, and plate glass 14 mounted therein.

A relatively thick wall construction is shown in Fig. l and comprises a layer of insulation board 23 which is secured to the stud 2 and a layer of dry wall material 24 which is applied to the insulation board. This 'wall formed of insulation board and dry wall material is a thicker wall construction than dry wall alone which constitutes a relatively thin wall construction. The inner Wall is often constructed with lath and plaster and is generally equal in thickness to the combination of insulation board and dry wall shown in Fig. l and thus also constitutes a relatively thick wall.

Because of the variations in thickness encountered in inner wall constructions, it is desirable to have the window frame elements readily adaptable to these variations.

We have provided a novel construction for the window frame members, namely, the head jamb, side jambs and sill which embodies an integral inside strip on each of the members which may be fixedly secured to said members for use with thick wall constructions or may be detached and discarded when the window frame is used with thin wall construction. This novel construction is shown in the drawings as applied to the side jamb 1. The jamb 1, which may be of wood or other like material, has an elongated body portion 19 and an integral inside strip portion 20 which is connected by a thin rib 21 to the body portion. The rib 21 is formed by offset saw cuts extending inwardly from a front face 25 and a rear face 26 of the jamb 1 which form a groove 27 and a groove 28 respectively, extending to approximately a common depth in the jamb.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 3, the inside strip 20 may be fixedly secured to the body portion 19 of the jamb, as by nails 22, when the jamb is to be used with a thick wall construction. The thin connecting rib 21 is sufliciently flexible to permit the slight movement of the inside strip 20 which is required when the strip is nailed to the body portion 19. As shown in Fig. 4, the inside strip 20 may be detached from the body portion 19 by breaking the thin rib portion 21 when the jamb is used with thin wall construction, and saw cuts defining offset grooves inside strip is not used, said 3 strip is consequently not reby swinging the insidestrip increase the size of construction and the inside quired. This is readily done 20 in a direction which tends to groove 27.

In order to have the inside strip 20 square with the body portion 19 of the jamb, when secured thereto, the inner side 29 thereof is given a slight bevel. The bevelled inner side 29 will compensate for the slight movement of the inside strip 20, due to the presence of the groove 27, when the inside strip is fixedly secured to the body portion 19.

We claim:

1. A prebuilt window jamb made of wood and suitable for use with either thin or thick inner wall constructions comprising, an elongated body portion forming one part of a frame in which the window may be hung, an integral inside strip for use with said body portion in a thick Wall extending inwardly from the rear and front faces of the jarnb to approximately a common depth and providing a thin connecting rib between said body portion and inside strip which may be broken when,'in thin wall construction, the

rib forming a flexible connection to permit securing of the inside strip against the body portion when the jarnb is used with thick wall construction, said inside strip having a bevelled inner side so that it will be square with the body portion when said strip is secured thereto.

2. A prebuilt window frame member made of wood and suitable for use with either thin or thick inner wall constructions comprising, an elongated body portion forming one part of a frame in which the window may be hung, an integral inside strip for use with said body portion in a thick wall construction, and saw cuts defining offset grooves extending inwardly from the rear and front faces of the member and providing a thin connecting rib between said body portion and inside strip which may be broken when, in thin wall construction, the inside strip is I not used, said rib forming a flexible connection to permit securing of the inside strip against the body portion when I body portion in a thick wall construction,

- flexible connecting rib said member is used with thick wall construction, said inside strip having a bevelled inner side to make said strip square with the body portion when said strip is secured thereto.

3. A prebuilt window jamb suitable for use with either thin or thick inner wall constructions comprising, a body portion forming one part of a frame in which the window may be hung, an integral inside strip for use with said and saw cuts defining offset grooves extending inwardly from the rear and front faces of the iamb and providing a thin connecting rib between said body portion and inside strip which may be broken when, in thin wall construction, the inside strip is not used, sai rib forming a flexible connection to permit securing of the inside strip against the body portion when the jamb is used with thick wall construction.

4. A prebuilt window jamb suitable for use with either thin or thick inner wall constructions comprising, a body portion, an inside strip portion integrally connected to said body "portion and optionally usable depending on the thickness of thewall construction with which the jamb is used, means defining a pair of grooves separating said inside strip from said body portion and forming a thin between said body portion and insidestrip portion which may be broken when the inside strip portion is not needed.

5. A prebuilt window frame member of wood or the like comprising, an elongated body portion forming one part of a frame in which the window may be hung, an inside strip spacedfrom an integral with said body portion and an elongated thin connecting rib for integrally connecting said'body portion and insidestrip, said rib being flexible to permit positioning and securing of the inside strip against the body portion and readily breakable to permit discard of said strip when its use is not necessary.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

